The story of Xiao Sheng

My name is Xiao Sheng. I’m 17 years old now. To be honest, I have no idea who and how old I am. I was a victim of child trafficking since I was young. I only have hazy memories about my mother. We used to live on the streets in sunny days, under the bridge in rainy days, or in the cave in Winter.

I was sold to a family and called the “son” of a disabled elderly. At first, they treated me nice, but they still refused to send me home even I told them I missed my mother. I attempted in vain to escape from the family as I couldn’t run fast enough nor tell the way home. The more I tried, the more severe penalty I would receive. I was scolded, punished and even beaten nearly to death. The scars from the torture are still visible on my arms. The family chained me up to prevent me from running away. At last, I used my hidden scissors to break the dog chain and fled from the “jail”.

I ended up living on the streets. Luckily, I met a lot of nice people, including a couple from Jiang Xi where I spent a short happy moment. I liked them. They bought me home and named me Liu Sheng. I was approximately 10 years old at that time. 

Three years later, my stepfather suddenly passed away. My stepmother decided to remarry. However, she refused to take care of me anymore as her fiancé already had two sons. Therefore, I went back to Fu Jian, back to my homeless life. When I was suffering from hunger and cold, I lost hope and wondered where should I go next and where should I regard as “Home”. This is the aspiration and feeling of all the homeless children, including myself. 

Coincidentally, I met someone who used to live in LSCH on the same day. He told me that this center would support me with food and clothing. They would also give me opportunity to study. “How could there be such a nice place on earth?”, I doubted. I decided to give it a try, as I could escape from there if anything went wrong.

I have been staying in the center since then. I recalled many adults and children surrounded and greeted me on the first day I arrived. It made me feel a lot different from living on the streets. Teachers would keep us clean despite how dirty we used to be. They helped to cut our fingernails and clean our ears. They also showed sympathy and cried for the wounded children. I felt love and care here. This is the main reason for me to stay. I am so determined to learn from my teachers and take care of younger brothers.

During this sharing session in Si Chuan, I had the honor to share my own story and experiences. As I listened to others, I was also touched and motivated. The greatest thing in this trip was to know Mr. Cheung from Hong Kong. He was so determined to endure pain after the tragedy. He was brave enough to face other people even his appearance had changed. Whenever I think about him, I have the courage to overcome any difficulties and challenges. I hope to study music therapy in the future, and help children with similar backgrounds.